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Bill would raise age that foster children age-out

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News

Published: May 4, 2016

Members of the state Senate Finance Committee got their first look at a House measure that extends the age to 21 for young adults in foster care and adoption assistance programs and remain eligible to receive federal benefits as a consequence.

Rep. Dorothy Pelanda, R-Marysville, one of the sponsors of the amended House Bill 50 told committee members that these young adults face tough odds as they are cast into the real world.

“Statistics have shown that, by age 19, the population of youths in Ohio that ages out of foster care have high percentage levels of homelessness and incarceration and low rates of full-time employment and earning high school diplomas or a GED,” the lawmaker said.

She detailed that at age 19, of these young adults:

• 14 percent had a child;

• 24 percent worked part-time and only 12 percent were employed full-time;

• 26 percent had experienced homelessness in the prior 24 months;

• 36 percent were incarcerated; and

• 53 percent had not earned a high school diploma or GED.

Under the bill, any qualifying individual may apply for foster care payments at any time.

An adoptive parent applying for adoption assistance payments may request an extension of adoption assistance payments at any time before the adopted person reaches age 21, according to analysis of the bill.

The bill also provides that if Ohio Department of Job and Family Services terminates foster care and adoption assistance payments, that determination is subject to adjudication under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Pelanda said the young person, however, must meet education and work requirements to qualify.

Specifically, he or she must be in the process of completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential; is enrolled in a post-secondary education or vocational education program; is a participant in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment; Is employed for at least 80 hours per month; or is incapable of doing any of the previous activities described because of a medical condition, which incapability is supported by regularly updated information in the case plan of the child.

The provision is expected to serve as a cost benefit to the state, according to the sponsor.

“Recent analyses of extending foster care project that, within 10 years, the state will benefit $1.81 for every dollar spent,” Pelanda said. “The bill ensures that funding for the program will begin no later than July 1, 2017, which is the start of the next biennium.

“Participants must commit to continuing their education and or employment. Therefore, we can estimate a benefit to the state in increased tax revenues and reduced dependency on assistance.”

In addition to increasing the age of eligibility for foster care services, Pelanda said HB 50 addresses the needs of the thousands of juvenile and elderly wards of the state.

“The guardianship language outlined in the bill contains modified provisions from House Bill 624, legislation I sponsored in the previous General Assembly,” she said. “This language is designed to encourage best practices and raise awareness of the unique issues presented in caring for our 67,000 juvenile and elderly wards.

“These guidelines will be provided by either the Ohio Attorney General or Ohio Judicial Conference.”

Pelanda commented on the bill’s journey through committee process, suggesting that it improved the legislation and put it “in proper working order” for Senate consideration.

“During these hearings, we made changes to the bill but none of these deviate from the main goal: To offer assistance and much needed protections for these two vulnerable populations of our fellow Ohioans,” she concluded.

HB 50, which is jointly sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R-Grove City, was introduced Feb. 10, 2015. It cleared the House of Representatives by a vote of 92-2.

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